“There’s been a breach—someone has infiltrated our meeting,” the woman in the red mask announced sharply, her voice slicing through the tense atmosphere like a shard of ice. The room fell silent for a moment, the weight of her words sinking in. Without hesitation, I sprang into action, my mind already racing through security protocols and containment plans. This was my domain, my duty to protect, and failure was simply not an option—not with so much hanging in the balance.
“Form teams of three,” I commanded, directing the Beta guards stationed along the estate’s perimeter. My voice held the unmistakable authority of an Alpha, firm and resolute. “Seal every exit immediately. Prioritize the eastern wing and northern perimeter. No one leaves without thorough identification checks.”
The guards responded with sharp nods before dispersing swiftly into the sprawling grounds. Almost instantly, the estate’s alarm systems blared to life, their piercing wails reverberating through the mansion’s long corridors and echoing into the night. I turned to Marcus, my most trusted Beta, who stood ready beside me.
“Double the patrols along the forest boundary,” I instructed. “Whoever breached our security is no amateur. They won’t take the obvious escape routes.”
As the search teams fanned out, I strode purposefully toward the security center. The urgency in my steps was matched only by the pounding of my heart. This intrusion couldn’t have come at a worse moment—just days before the ritual we had painstakingly planned for years. If someone had overheard our plans regarding Moonstone Cave…
“Sir!” A breathless guard hurried toward me, his face pale under the moonlight. “We found two sentries unconscious near the east corridor, and another by the service entrance. All three were taken down silently, precision neck strikes.”
My jaw clenched tightly. “And the intruder?”
“Signs point toward movement near the northern cliff face. We found disturbed vegetation and what appear to be rope marks on the outcropping.”
Without hesitation, I changed course, heading toward the northern perimeter. The cool night air brushed against my face as I stepped outside the mansion, the nearly full moon hanging heavy and luminous in the dark sky. Beneath my skin, my wolf stirred, reacting to my agitation with heightened senses. Every scent, every faint sound sharpened to perfect clarity.
At the cliff’s edge, I knelt to inspect the evidence more closely. There were unmistakable traces of rappelling gear. The intruder had chosen the most perilous escape route—a near hundred-foot drop to the forest below. Few would dare risk such a dangerous path.
“Professional work,” I murmured, tracing the faint impressions left in the soil with my fingers. As I rose, something caught the moonlight—a small object half-buried in the dirt. I reached down and carefully retrieved it.
It was a golden hairpin, adorned with a delicate floral design at one end.
Instinctively, I brought it to my nose and inhaled deeply. Beyond the earthy scent and faint metallic tang, there was something else—something hauntingly familiar. A fragrance that tugged at memories long buried and stirred a feeling deep within my chest that I had thought dead and gone.

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